Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA): Results of Operations and Financial Condition
Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA) filed an SEC Form 8-K — Results of Operations and Financial Condition. Exhibit 99.1 August 4, 2026 Zeta Global Reports 20 th Consecutive “Beat and Raise” Quarter, Achieves the Rule of 64 and Generates Positive GAAP Net Income in 2Q’26 • Delivered revenue of $443 million for the second quarter, an increase of 44%Y/Y, exceeding midpoint of guidance by
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
The newest actionable information is the combination of a beat-and-raise quarter, positive GAAP net income, and upward revisions to revenue, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow, and GAAP EPS guidance.
Market read
Beat-and-raise earnings with multiple guidance increases and improved profitability/cash generation can drive repricing and momentum trading.
What to watch
The release highlights AI adoption measurement framework but provides limited detail on how quickly it drives incremental revenue; also excludes M&A and political-candidate revenue in some comparisons, which may affect quality-of-growth interpretation.
Zeta Global Reports 20th Consecutive “Beat and Raise” Quarter, Achieves the Rule of 64 and Generates Positive GAAP Net Income in 2Q’26
Revenue grew 44% Y/Y, adjusted EBITDA reached $92 million with a 20.7% margin, GAAP net income turned positive at $8 million, free cash flow increased 73% Y/Y, and the company increased third-quarter and full-year 2026 guidance.
Key metrics
as reported| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenueother | $443 million | – | 44% Y/Y |
| Super-Scaled Customer countother | 197 | – | 17% Y/Y |
| Super-Scaled customer ARPUother | $1.8 million | – | 17% Y/Y |
| Net incomeGAAP | $8 million | – | – |
| Earnings per shareGAAP | $0.03 | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDAnon-GAAP | $92 million | – | – |
| Adjusted EBITDA marginnon-GAAP | 20.7% | – | expanded adjusted EBITDA margin by 170 bps Y/Y |
| Net cash provided by operating activitiesGAAP | $69 million | – | 65% Y/Y |
| Free Cash Flownon-GAAP | $58 million | – | 73% Y/Y |
Third Quarter 2026 and Full Year 2026 outlook
- RevenueThird Quarter 2026: $469 million to $472 million; Full Year 2026: $1,811 million to $1,824 million
- NoteThird Quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA: $115.0 million to $116.0 million
- NoteThird Quarter 2026 revenue year-over-year growth rate: 39% to 40%
- NoteThird Quarter 2026 revenue growth rate excluding M&A and political candidate revenue: 23% to 24%
- NoteThird Quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA year-over-year growth rate: 47% to 49%
- NoteThird Quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin: 24.4% to 24.7%
- NoteFull Year 2026 revenue year-over-year growth rate: 39% to 40%
- NoteFull Year 2026 revenue growth rate excluding M&A and political candidate revenue: 24% to 25%
- NoteFull Year 2026 adjusted EBITDA: $404.1 million to $406.3 million
- NoteFull Year 2026 adjusted EBITDA year-over-year growth rate: 45% to 46%
- NoteFull Year 2026 adjusted EBITDA margin: 22.1% to 22.4%
- NoteFull Year 2026 free cash flow: $254.8 million to $255.8 million
- NoteFull Year 2026 free cash flow year-over-year growth rate: 55%
- NoteFull Year 2026 free cash flow margin: 14.0% to 14.1%
- NoteFull Year 2026 GAAP EPS: $0.09 to $0.11
What drove it
- Revenue of $443 million exceeded the midpoint of guidance by $23 million, or 5%.
- Super-Scaled Customer count grew to 197 and Super-Scaled customer ARPU grew to $1.8 million, both ahead of 2028 model.
- Management attributed broad-based strength and consistent execution to AI adoption and usage across the platform.
- Management cited new momentum from collaborations with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir.
- The company said adjusted EBITDA margin expansion reflected the rule of 64 and the rule of 49 excluding M&A.
Concerns
- The release identifies risks from macroeconomic and industry trends, borrowing costs, inflation, tariffs, and changes in global trade policies.
- The release identifies risks related to customer attraction and retention, growth management, acquisitions and strategic investments, data collection and use, and email-delivery standards.
- The release identifies risks from confidential or personal-information disclosures, security breaches, and disruption to third-party data centers, systems, and technologies.
- The company did not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, free cash flow, or free cash flow margin to forward-looking GAAP measures.
What to watch
- Third Quarter 2026 revenue guidance of $469 million to $472 million and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $115.0 million to $116.0 million.
- Full Year 2026 revenue guidance of $1,811 million to $1,824 million, adjusted EBITDA guidance of $404.1 million to $406.3 million, and free cash flow guidance of $254.8 million to $255.8 million.
- Progress toward full-year 2026 GAAP EPS guidance of $0.09 to $0.11.
- Continued growth in Super-Scaled Customer count and Super-Scaled customer ARPU.
- The contribution of AI adoption and usage across the platform, including collaborations with OpenAI, Snowflake, and Palantir.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Generated net cash provided by operating activities of $69 million, an increase of 65% Y/Y.
- Generated Free Cash Flow of $58 million, an increase of 73% Y/Y.
Analysis
Zeta reported $443 million of second-quarter revenue, up 44% Y/Y, and said the result exceeded the midpoint of guidance by $23 million, or 5%. The company characterized the quarter as its 20th consecutive “Beat and Raise” quarter. Management attributed the performance to broad-based strength, consistent execution, and AI adoption and usage across the platform.
Management, verbatim
Accelerating revenue growth to 44% and achieving the rule of 64 in the second quarter reflects the growing demand for Zeta’s intelligent AI infrastructure platform.
David A. Steinberg, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta
Our results this quarter reflect the broad-based strength and consistent execution across the business, driven by AI adoption and usage across the platform.
Chris Greiner, Zeta’s CFO
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Revenue prior-year amount
- Revenue prior-quarter amount
- Segment revenue disclosure
- GAAP gross profit and gross margin
- Non-GAAP gross profit and gross margin
- GAAP operating income or loss
- Non-GAAP operating income or loss
- Net income prior-year amount and year-over-year change
- GAAP EPS prior-year amount and year-over-year change
- Non-GAAP EPS
- Adjusted EBITDA prior-year amount
- Cash balance
- Debt balance
- Capital expenditures
- Share repurchases
- Dividends
- Previous-release outlook required for vs_prior_guidance comparison
AlphaAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.
Background
This is Zeta Global’s SEC Form 8-K (Item 2.02) with Exhibit 99.1 covering 2Q’26 results and updated 2026 and 3Q’26 guidance.
Ticker impact
Zeta reported 2Q’26 revenue of $443M (+44% Y/Y) and raised 2026 revenue guidance to $1,818M at the midpoint, plus positive GAAP net income.
Likely positive bias for the next session and into guidance digestion, with upside follow-through if investors focus on rule-of-64 execution and FCF margin expansion.
The filing includes multiple concrete, time-sensitive datapoints: beat vs guidance, positive GAAP net income, adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, and upward revisions to Q3 and full-year revenue/EBITDA/FCF and GAAP EPS.
Market effects
Reinforces demand narrative for AI infrastructure/data platforms and may support sentiment toward enterprise AI marketing and data-intelligence vendors.
Primarily US-listed growth/AI software sentiment; limited direct regional spillover beyond NYSE tech/AI complex.
Global relevance is indirect, via enterprise AI spend expectations and competitive positioning in data/AI layers.
Counterpoint
Guidance increases may already be partially priced; investors could focus on whether AI adoption monetization framework translates into durable margins beyond near-term beats.
Key entities
- public_companyZeta Global Holdings Corp.
Intelligent AI infrastructure company reporting 2Q’26 results and raising 2026 guidance.
- executiveDavid A. Steinberg
Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO quoted on AI infrastructure demand and platform inflection.
- executiveChris Greiner
CFO quoted on pipeline visibility and confidence to raise guidance.
